An “electronic component” should be understood hereinafter to mean any active or passive electronic components, circuits comprising a plurality of individual components, or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Such electronic components can be destroyed if voltage pulses whose amplitudes are greater than the limit values permissible for the respective component occur between component terminals.
Consideration shall be given to MOS transistors, for example, in which a parasitic bipolar transistor can be formed by the source zone, the drain zone and the body zone—which is arranged between the source zone and the drain zone and is doped complementarily to the source zone and the drain zone. This parasitic transistor switches on if the voltage between the load path terminals (or drain and source terminals) of the MOS transistor exceeds a limit value typical of the component. This switch-on of the parasitic transistor leads to destruction of the component. Moreover, voltage pulses between the source terminal and the gate terminal of a MOS transistor can damage a gate dielectric arranged between gate and source, which likewise leads to destruction or at least to a malfunction of the component.
In the case of capacitors, in particular in the case of integrated capacitors, excessively high voltages can lead to damage or destruction of the capacitor dielectric. Accordingly, in the case of MEMS components, damage to microstructures of the components can occur as a result of high voltages and the high field strengths associated therewith.
In the case of bipolar transistors, voltage pulses can likewise lead to destruction of the component. A malfunction brought about by voltage pulses can be just as critical as destruction. Thus, even short high voltage pulses can suffice to alter the current gain and the high-frequency behavior of a bipolar transistor, which can have considerable effects on further circuit components connected to the transistor.
High voltages representing a hazard for the component can result, for example, from an electrostatic discharge (ESD), from coupled-in electromagnetic interference (EMI) or from similar disturbances.